Monday, September 11, 2006

We headed to the Farmers Markets at the Entertainment Quarter, the enormous white canopies offering welcome shelter from the unobliging weather.

Muffins

The cupcakes and muffins loked cute, but with our bellies grumbling at 11am we were more interested in the prospect of a nourishing tasty breakfast.

Garlic prawns from Mojo Picon

A had the garlic prawns, cooked fresh on the grill with Mojo Picon's garlic tomato sauce. Veruca Salt and I, however, only had eyes for the thick fingers of juicy chorizo, seared on the grill to produce patches of caramel brown along its skin, and jammed into a crusty roll and smothered in Mojo Picon sauces.

Chorizo with green coriander and red capsicum sauces from Mojo Picon

Michette loaves from Beb Patisserie

Macarons and tarts from Beb Patisserie

Almond crossiant from Beb Patisserie

Now that we'd had our savouries, we could then move onto dessert. I waxed lyrical about the almond crossiant from Beb Patisserie so much that not only did I convince Veruca to buy one, but somehow I really needed one as well.

It's a crisp flaky crossiant with a rich pastry that tastes of almond meal. And to wash it down we couldn't resist a steaming hot chocolate from Toby's Estate.

Hot chocolate from Toby’s Estate

Fresh jackfruit

One stall was selling fresh jackfruit much to the intrigue of passing shoppers. The jackfruit was a little unripe and firm for my liking, but then perhaps they thought its lighter flavour would be more appealing to the uninitiated.

Mojo Picon were at the (very unfortunately rained out) Chatswood Spring Fair on Saturday. their chorizo rolls are so good - i'd never tried them till then! i had everyone at work looking enviously at my lunch... so much better than the usual fare!

whao.. fresh jackfruit. ive only had them in cans. wonder what they taste like fresh.. mmm... =P

oh btw.. was wondering if you know where i can get good home made jam or just special jam like mango jam??i need to get it before the 29th of this month.. i was gona go to the good living growers market but missed it.. >

I'm still a little undecided about Chorizo, in my experience it's always been a bit too fatty or salty (maybe I've just tried bad places). But i'm very into fresh flowers & markets at the moment so I'll probably be making a visit soon.

oh those mojo picon chorizos are the best! I was caught by the lovely guy that mans the grill, licking every scrap of sauce off my plate. It's just too good to waste. He was understandably amused and suggested I should just buy a jar of the stuff. So I did : )

Hi Shez - I noticed that the Chatswood Spring Fair was on and empathised with the organisers. The Mojo Picon chorizo is nice and juicy - I just wish they had some chilli in them to add some kick.

Hi kat o+ - Jackfruit is popular with Asians so I'd head to Cabramatta and Bankstown for your best bet. I think it's only occasionally available at Paddy's Markets in Chinatown.

Hi Ben - Beb do have a regular shop which I have posted on before. Thanks for reminding me to add some links which I've now done so as above (and yes their macarons are pretty good).

Hi joey - I like ripe jackfruit which becomes supersweet, plump and almost pulpy.

re: homemade jams - you could always try the other farmers markets which are on, like Orange Grove (the Farmers Wife jams are yum) or Ashfield. Otherwise head to DJs Food Hall or the Essential Ingredient.

Hi Veruca Salt - They bake all their breads onsite on stones, and they have a tantalising display of gateaux, tarts and pastries.

Hi Pickles - Oh you cannot beat good chorizo. Sure it's fatty, but that's like garlic prawns are fatty. It's where the goodness and flavour is!

Hi jenjen - Yup I've bought the salsa verde sauce before (the red one). I was somewhat guilty of constantly topping up my roll with more sauce with each bite.

Hi Veruca (again) - The olives were disappointing. Next time we will have to try before we buy.

Best come on down to the Ent Qtr to try it fresh. We will be offering samples ongoing.

I am also compiling a 'drivers manual' so you can exploit the full value of your Jackfruit (the roasted Jackfruit seeds are to die for!). Its a surprising versatile fruit, hence its popularity it the greater asias.

Hi Keith - Welcome to GrabYourFork and thanks for taking the time to comment!

I didn't realise that jackfruit "ripen" in flavours in the fridge after you've opened them--thanks for the tip. And roasted jackfruit seeds? Sounds very intriguing. We'll have to check those out next time we're over there.